Dr. Neil Purdie

Oklahoma Scientist of the Year

Reading a summary of Dr. Neal Purdie's
accomplishments during the past 15 years makes one wonder why he had not
received the OAS Scientist of the Year award
before now. At the annual technical meeting of the academy hosted by Oral Roberts
University this fall, that situation changed. Space
is much too limited here to record all that he has accomplished as well as the many
glowing tributes from his colleagues and peers. Thus we select a few
illustrations of what exemplifies the distinguished career of
this scientist.

Dr. Purdie began his professional career as a
physical chemist, became an inorganic chemist and then
an analytical chemist, and finally specialized in
forensic, clinical, food, and pharmaceutical chemistry. In each
of these stages, he has been most productive as a
scholar, researcher, and especially as a teacher. He has
published his research in almost every important
chemistry journal, has produced a long succession of reviews and book chapters, been
invited to submit material to key encyclopedias,
and has found time to co-edit a chemistry text.

Not content "to rest on his laurels"
and previous accomplishments, he is now hard at work investigating methods of
determining serum cholesterol and developing quality control analytical methods for
validating the chiral properties of protein-based
pharmaceuticals. Journal articles and patents, both in the United States and European
Economic Community, are the products of his cholesterol research. In his second area
of current research, he is modeling structure-activity relationships that are capable of
predicting protein receptors for new drug substances.

Dr. Purdie has received
numerous awards for his activities including the
Merrin Award from the Medical School at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 1999. Other awards include several for
outstanding teaching from the AMOCO Foundation, the College of Arts and Sciences and
the Alumni-Blue Key Society at Oklahoma State University. In 1995, he was the first
recipient of the Oklahoma Medal for Excellence for Teaching at the
College/University Level.

As these teaching awards suggest,
Dr. Purdie is a dedicated teacher. While it is common for professors who receive million
dollar grants for research to shun undergraduate teaching, he regularly teaches
basic courses in chemistry at OSU. Because he also is head of
the departmenthis third termit would be easy
for him to take a less strenuous teaching load, but he
chooses to excite the interests of first- and second-year students
for chemistry. Perhaps the highest praise for him as
a teacher comes from one of the nominators who
wrote, "The lectures are well attended by students on a
volunteer basis because they are replete with humor and
examples which have an impact on the students' lives" (emphasis added).

As might be expected from one
who cares so much about science, learning, and research, Dr. Purdie is a strong
department head, ". . . demonstrating sensitivity to
the needs of his faculty," in the words of
one nominator. He has transformed his department into one of national and
international recognition that attracts students from
all over the world.

One of the letters recommending
Dr. Purdie for the award closes with this fitting tribute: ". . . Professor Purdie is a
quintessential academician, pursuing excellence in the generation of new and valuable
science. He balances this by exemplary
transmission of his love for the pursuit of scientific
endeavor to his students, who number in the tens of thousands." We congratulate him
on his numerous achievements and recognition as the Oklahoma Scientist of the Year.